Going Home
by Dellruby
Summary: I wrote this to answer my question of "what happened in season 6". Note: I had no clue of proposed movie outline that has been posted on line. This doesn't follow it. 2nd I played fast and loose with the time line...I took 3 years and squished it down to 5 months...So Atlantis arrived on Earth in 2012. 3rd My first ever attempt at a story. Thank you to MSusy, my Beta.


Prologue

During the 5 months since Atlantis arrived on Earth, extensive scans had been conducted to locate any ancient tech hidden on earth, with the hope of finding enough of the right parts to repair the Earth Chair. Several pieces had been found located in a number of different counties around the world, including India, The UK, Russia, and New Zealand. Teams were sent out in cloaked puddle jumpers to investigate, and retrieve the items.

The team that was sent to New Zealand was made up of Col. Sheppard, Ronan Dex, and Zelenka. No trouble was expected because New Zealand is an ally of the US and there is no political tension, or civil unrest. The location of the artifact is in Christchurch. It is thought that it may have been damaged due to the movement of the land during the earthquakes of Sept 2010, and Feb 2011, not to mention the on-going shakes the region have received.

Chapter 1

"Not many buildings down there for a large city," Ronon remarked as the puddle jumper passed over the Central business district of Christchurch, New Zealand.

"Over half of all the office blocks, shops and other buildings in the city centre had to be demolished due to damage sustained in the 2 major earthquakes. It is really quite fascinating when you look at the data on how the land moved, and the resulting liquefaction, many parts of the city have sunk up to a meter and the Port Hills over there have been raised by up to half a meter," said Zelenka gesturing towards a set of hills on the south-eastern edge of the city.

"'Fascinating'. I bet the population wasn't thinking 'hey wasn't that fascinating' when it happened," noted Sheppard.

"Well no, but scientists from all around the world are learning so much from these episodes, they are unlike any other reported earthquakes, and almost everything we now know about liquefaction has been learned from here." Zelenka looked like he was about to go into a lot more detail on the subject when Ronon cut across him,

"So has this thing we are looking for sunk, or been bought to the surface?"

"Neither actually, but it has been pushed around and possibly been damaged or activated somehow because it is emitting a slight energy field."

"Shouldn't be too hard to find then," Replied Ronon

"It is in the Eastern suburbs which also sustained a large amount of land and building damage."

"Well hopefully that will mean we don't have a bunch of desperate housewives hanging around," said Sheppard.

"It's down there," said Zelenka indicating an area of backyards.

"Ok, we will put this down on that empty section and walk back," said Sheppard.

"There were quite a number of empty ones like this," said Ronon. "How much of the city is going to be left when they have finished pulling down the damaged bits?"

"Most of the residential areas are fine, it is just the CBD and this side of the city that have suffered the worst damage," answered Zelenka.

"Why do they stay?" Ronon asked.

"Good question," answered Sheppard. "We will have to ask one of the neighbours."

They touched down and Zelenka grabbed the scanner.

"No guns Ronon," Sheppard said taking off his sidearm and flak jacket. "If anyone sees a gun they will call the local law enforcement. Hand guns are illegal here; the cops don't even carry them."

"No crime here then?" he asked.

"Well I wouldn't go as far as that, but they are trying."

"What if we run into trouble?"

"From what? It's not like the Wraith are likely to turn up, or anyone else for that matter."

They exited the cloaked puddle jumper and closed the door. Trying to look like average people, they walked out to the street. Ronon wearing his usual leather and linen outfit, Sheppard dressed in a black shirt, and trousers and combat boots, and Zelenka wearing the grey Atlantis jacket and pants with the insignia removed.

The section they had landed on was a dozen or so properties down from the one the energy readings were coming from. Zelenka walked with his head down, monitoring the readings on the scanner.

"Half of these places look empty," noted Ronon

"Yes, we are just inside the red zone here," Zelenka looked up and noticed the blank looks on both their faces and continued. "Areas that have been deemed to have land damage to great too rebuild on. The Government bought out the owners so they could move on and start again on un-damaged land. This house here," he indicated the next house along the street, "is on green zoned land, which is deemed suitable for building on".

"That doesn't seem fair, the land looks no different," said Ronon.

"Hmm, yes, that is the opinion of many who live on the borders of the red zoned land. There are an awful lot of upset housewives around here, desperate, you might say," he said with a straight face.

"Maybe we should have brought the guns after all," said Sheppard with a sarcastic tone.

A few houses further up the street Zelenka said, "We are close now, I think it is at the back of this next house."

"It looks occupied, that's a pity," said Sheppard as they turned up the driveway which was badly cracked.

"How do you want to do this?" asked Ronon. "Want to knock on the door?"

"Let's just take a look and see what's what first, shall we?" said Sheppard as they passed the front door and carried on down towards a double garage that was blocking a view of the backyard. They passed the back door and angled around the garage to a narrow path. Zelenka once again walked with his head down, Sheppard walked on the grass beside him, with Ronon bringing up the rear. They came to an abrupt halt when a voice suddenly asked…

"Can I help you?"

In front of them they noticed a woman who had been obscured by a large rosemary bush as she hung a load of wet washing on a clothes line. She looked to be late 30's, early 40's with shoulder length auburn hair, slightly plump and standing about 5'5" tall.

"Ahh, excuse us ma'am," Sheppard at the same time as Zelenka said, "We are from the EQC. We are just here to scan your land for damage."

Her eyebrows raised a little as she fixed Zelenka with a penetrating stare and said "Really? Where have you been these past 2 years?"

"She seems a bit hostile," Ronon hissed to Sheppard.

"You would be too in my position," she shot back "and skeptical. Where are your ID badges?"

"Zelenka, maybe we should just try being friendly and tell the nice lady why we're here.," said Sheppard. He gave her a winning smile and said

"It was noted in an aerial survey that some strange readings were coming from this area. We have been sent to check them out and make sure that everything is safe for you and your family."

"What sort of readings are we talking about here? Have we got holes underground, or have you jokers found oil?"

"It's an energy reading" said Zelenka. "Won't take us a moment to locate it, then we can remove it and be out of your hair in no time."

"Ok, but don't think I'm leaving you alone out here, there have been reports of looters targeting the area."

"Can I ask you a question?" asked Ronon.

"Go ahead."

"Why do you stay here, why don't you just pack up and leave?" He got a sharp look form Sheppard, to which he shrugged and said "You told me to ask!"

There was a moment or two in which a number of expressions flittered across the woman's face.

"Why don't we leave? Where would we go? All our money is tied up in this house, this land. We can't go, we are trapped here." She looked at the ground, gave a slight laugh, and said to them "I kind of hope you have found oil, then at least our land would be worth something."

No one spoke for a moment then Zelenka said,

"Got it, it is 5 feet straight down here." He motioned to the grass at his feet.

"Excuse me Ma'am?" started Sheppard politely.

"Rewa" she said. "It's my name," she added when he looked at her blankly.

"Oh, right, um I'm Sheppard, this is Ronon, and the little guy who wants us to dig is Zelenka".

"Pleased to meet you all," Rewa answered.

"Nice name." Ronon said offering his hand. Zelenka gave her a self-conscious smile.

"So", went on Sheppard, "I don't suppose you have a couple of shovels handy that we could borrow?"

"Bound to have," she said walking over to a galvanised tool shed. Moments later she handed a spade each to Sheppard and Ronon.

"Knock yourselves out," she said with a smile.

Half an hour later, holding a coffee cup in her hands Rewa asked, "So what happens to this 'thing' when you find it?"

"We take it back to the lab and test it. I don't think there will be any problem with contamination, the energy readings don't look radioactive or harmful in anyway, just interesting," Zelenka replied putting down his empty cup. Ronon and Sheppard were both standing in a hole that was waist deep.

"Well that's it for the two of us; it's a one man hole from now on," remarked Ronon jumping up and out of the hole. "Besides my coffee is getting cold."

"Ok buddy, I'll remember this next time you want anything," said Sheppard.

Another half hour passed then the blade of the shovel went 'clunk'.

"I think we have something," he said squatting down in the hole for a closer look. Using his hands he cleared away some more wet dirt.

"It's very muddy down here."

"Yes, the water table has risen all around the eastern side of the city due to the shift in the land and of-course we are really quite close to the river here," Zelenka looked to be getting into his stride when Sheppard interrupted him.

"Hand down the scanner, let's see if we can't get a clearer picture on what we have here."

"Oh, right" said Zelenka, and handed the scanner to Sheppard while he mumbled something under his breath in Czech.

"No, nothing new on the scan, guess we will just have to wait till we get it to the lab," he said tossing the scanner back up to Zelenka who fumbled the catch. Some grunting came from the hole and a slurping noise as he lifted the device.

"Damn thing's heavy," he said lifting it to the edge of the hole and sliding it onto the grass. All three at the top squatted or bent down to get a better look. As Sheppard went to let go of it, the edge of the hole started to give way. Four sets of hands reached out to prevent it from falling, the two closest touched the device, Sheppard's and Rewa's. At that instant there was a blinding flash and Rewa was thrown backwards, hitting her head on the concrete path behind her.

Sheppard pushed the device further onto the grass, and climbed out of the hole with a hand from Ronon, then quickly joined Zelenka who was kneeling beside Rewa.

"She has been knocked unconscious," he said, as he tapped the scanner and looked at the readout.

"She is also registering a similar energy reading as the device, there is no telling just what it has done to her. I think we better get her looked at by a doctor to be on the safe side."

"You two stay here, I'll go get the jumper. I think I there is room enough to land it by the garage, and we will take her back to base."

"That may take too long," said Zelenka. "We have no idea what that blast of energy has done to her, not to mention the blow to the head. Is the Daedalus in orbit?"

Sheppard pulled a radio ear piece out from a pocket and popped it in.

"Sheppard to Daedalus."

"Daedalus here, this is Caldwell."

"Col Caldwell we have a medical emergency involving a civilian, can you transport Zelenka and the patient to the infirmary on Atlantis? Ronon and I will follow in the shuttle."

"You better send the device with us, I may need to analyse it to determine what it is we are dealing with."

"Ok, locking onto Zelenka, the patient and the device."

Moments later there was a blue shimmer and two people plus the device were gone.

"Guess we should fill in the hole before we go," commented Ronon.

Chapter 2

There was a blue shimmer, and Zelenka appeared, kneeling next to an unconscious woman and a muddy looking piece of ancient tech on the floor of the infirmary.

"What have we got here," said Dr Carson Beckett in his Scottish brogue

"She got hit with a charge from this device. She was thrown back and hit her head on concrete. Any hospital could deal with the head wound, but the energy readings might prove to be a bit hard to explain," replied Zelenka. Rewa was lifted onto a bed and the body scanner was set in motion.

"The head wound doesn't look too bad, there is no intracranial bleeding. How long has she been unconscious?"

"A couple of minutes at most," came the reply. "Her body seems to be pulsing with energy, is it having any effect on her body function?"

"Hard to tell at this point. I have no baseline readings for her, nothing to compare my results with. We will have a much clearer picture when she wakes up."

"In the meantime, I will get this down to my lab and see what I can come up with, it might help to know what it was designed to do," said Zelenka as he lifted the device. He groaned and dropped it onto an instrument trolley.

"It's a bit heavy, mind if I borrow this?" he asked as he pushed the wheeled trolley out of the room.

"No, go right ahead," Carson said to himself as he watched the retreating back of Zelenka.

A few hours later Sheppard and Ronon walked into the infirmary.

"How is she doing doc?" asked Sheppard.

"Very well actually, the head wound was only superficial and she regained consciousness within a few minutes. The energy readings have lessened some, but are still causing some concern. Apart from that she is a normal healthy 30 year old woman."

"30? I don't mean to be rude here, but I'm pretty sure she is a little older than that," said Sheppard in a lowered voice which he hoped wouldn't carry as far as the occupied bed. He glanced toward it trying to see if he had offended Rewa.

"She looks different," stated Ronon.

"I assure you she is fine, and can't be any older than 30, age is ascertained at the cellular level."

"I know you are talking about me," she said to the three of them, "It's rude to whisper."

"Dr Beckett was just telling us that your scans have come back clear, but he needs a little information for his records… Ah, can you tell us your date of birth please?" asked Sheppard.

"I never like that question, and have been known to lie on official papers from time to time," she replied.

"Please?" asked Sheppard with a smile.

She sighed. "Well how can I refuse when you ask so nicely. 3rd of the 2nd, 67."

"2nd of March," noted Carson.

"You have been hanging around Americans too long Doctor, the English dating system. Day, month, year. 2nd of February." Rewa corrected.

"67, so that makes you 40…" Sheppard was cut off mid-sentence by Rewa.

"Something. Leave it at 40 something please, I'm trying to forget the details."

"Women are the same the universe over!" chuckled Ronon.

"That can't be right!" exclaimed Carson who went to a control panel and set the body scanner in action again. "Maybe it is malfunctioning."

"What's it say?" asked Sheppard.

"It can't be right, the scanner now tells me she is in perfect health for a woman of 25 years!"

"Cool!" Rewa said with a smile. "I knew a gym membership was a waste of money." She glanced down at her hands, then slowly lifted them for a better look. "Um, hold on…my hands look – different. You were joking weren't you?"

"I have another question," said Ronon. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Maybe you asked before we got here, but you don't seem to be surprised at your surroundings." Sheppard glanced at Carson who shook his head slightly to indicate he had said nothing.

"That's a good point Ronon," Sheppard said, and looked back at Rewa for an answer.

"Um, now that you mention it, yeah, I should be freaking out. Hospitals don't have body scanners like this, they are huge cat scanners. But in all honesty, the place looks sort of familiar. I can't explain it, but it almost feels like home."

"I think it is time to see if Zelenka has found out anything about that device," said Sheppard turning to leave. Then he turned back to Carson. "What about the gene, does she have it?"

"Oh yes, that was the first thing I noted, but then quite a few people do."

"Thanks Carson, keep a close eye on her. I'll be back soon to see how you are doing," he added to Rewa, then he and Ronon left the infirmary.

"Do you have a mirror around here Dr Beckett?" Rewa asked.

"There is a mirror in the bathroom," he said pointing towards a door in the back of the room.

Rewa sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed and had to sit there for a moment as a wave of dizziness swept over her. Once she was sure she could stand, she did so, and walked to the bathroom. Once inside she shut and locked the door, then turned to the large mirror that hung over a basin. The face that looked back at her was one she knew, but hadn't seen for many years, or at least only in old photos. She was wearing a shapeless hospital gown which she now pulled tight at her waist. Unable to believe what she thought she saw, she undid the ties at the side and let the gown drop to the floor and stood in her bar and knickers, both of which were hanging baggily on a slender frame.

"Shit a brick!" she murmured to the young girl in the mirror, and turned to see the side view. She placed a hand on the flat stomach as she remembered the soft pot belly she had dried that morning after her shower. Her bra was so big on her that it was laughable. She reached behind her and redid it up on the tightest fitting, and it still didn't touch the sides. She stepped forward to examine her face – not a laugh line or wrinkle anywhere!

"Shit a brick" she said again louder this time. She was amazed and at the same time horrified.

_I have never looked this good_ she thought._ my husband and kids won't know who I am! Oh my God! I can't go home looking like this, I look younger that I did when I got married 17 years ago! Not to mention slimmer!_

She turned to the door and reached for the handle.

"Opps," she said to herself as she bent to pick up the hospital gown and slipped it back on before opening the door.

"Um," she said as she walked towards Dr Carson Beckett "What is happening to me?" He turned from the monitor he was working at, to look at her noting that she did indeed look different from the woman who had first come into his care only 4 hours ago.

"I'm not sure, but I believe that you are in no danger. Come over here please, I just want to run another quick scan."

He was looking at the three sets of data he had from the scans he had run on Rewa when Sheppard returned to the infirmary with Zelenka. When Zelenka caught sight of Rewa on the bed he stopped in his tracks and his mouth fell open.

"Well that confirms what I was thinking," she said.

"What were you thinking?" Sheppard asked trying to cover the shock he also felt at the sight of this young girl on the bed.

"That I can't go home looking like this," Rewa answered in a dejected tone.

Sheppard turned to Carson and asked "Anything new?"

"Well yes actually, I just finished another scan and as you can see here", he pointed to the monitor. "She has got younger again, and her body mass has shrunk by 30%. She is now in perfect health for a girl of 20 years of age. The good news is that the rate of change has slowed, and may have stopped altogether. She seems to have stabilized at this age."

Sheppard turned to Zelenka and asked "What have you found out about the device?"

"Not a lot really, it doesn't seem to be active anymore. What I can make out is it seems to be a container of sorts, but it is empty."

"What would this container hold if it wasn't empty?" asked Sheppard.

"Energy, and data, not unlike a really large flash drive. My guess is that it was the energy that took up the space."

"And that energy drained into Rewa?"

"The data too, as that part is also empty," said Zelenka looking again towards her. "Have you mapped her brain function?" he asked Carson.

"Hold on." He said as he made some adjustments to the data on the computer screen. On another monitor first one, then two other pictures of a brain appeared.

"This was her brain function at the time of the first scan, the second, and here is the third. You can clearly see that it is far more active now than it was in either of the first two."

"But what information was it?" asked Sheppard looking from the monitor to Rewa, and back again.

Chapter 3

"So, how is our patient?" asked Richard Woolsey as he looked up from the paperwork on his desk, towards Col. Sheppard, Dr Beckett and Dr Zelenka.

"She is in perfect health," replied Dr Beckett.

"However, she does appear to have gone backwards in age from mid-40's to 20," added Sheppard.

"Not to mention some unknown data has been poured into her brain, and as of yet we have no idea how this may affect her," said Zelenka.

"So what are we doing about the fact that she has disappeared from her home and family, and as yet can't be sent home?" asked Woolsey.

"I have told the local authorities that she was infected by an unknown bacteria associated with a contaminated artifact that was removed from the property. As far as the family knows she is in isolation in a stable but serious condition. Hopefully any lasting changes in her appearance can be explained by a supposed illness," replied Sheppard.

"What time frame are we looking at here?"

"Open ended, it can take as long as it takes," Sheppard answered.

"And the information, data if you will, when will we know if it can be retrieved, or even what it contains?" Woolsey asked Zelenka.

"Scans can tell us nothing new at this point, we may just have to ask her what she knows, and depending on how much information was in the device, it could take some time."

"Is there no way we can speed up the operation?"

"None that I can think of at this time, but I was considering that I might contact McKay, see if he has any thoughts on the subject."

"Good idea. Well if she is no longer a medical case, I suggest you find her some quarters she can use during her stay with us. She might as well be comfortable."

And with that they were dismissed.

Rewa looked up at the woman who had just walked into the infirmary.

"Hello, my name is Teyla. I have come to take you to the quarters that have been assigned to you for the duration of your stay."

"My stay? Will I actually be able to go home again?"

"I am sure that Drs Beckett and Zelenka will be able to help you with the dilemma you now find yourself in. If you get dressed we can be on our way."

"Ok, but I'm pretty sure that I'm going to need some new clothes, my bra doesn't even fit any more."

"I can get some basic pieces of clothing for you once we sort out your quarters, and we can go into the city to get anything else you need."

When Rewa came out of the bathroom in her old clothes, the blouse hung on her like a sack, and she had to hold up her jeans so they didn't fall down around her ankles.

"Yes, it would appear that a new set of clothes are indeed needed," Teyla said with a smile.

After walking Rewa to her new quarters, Teyla excused herself to fetch the clothing, giving her time to look around the room. It was spacious and much like a studio flat with a bed to the right side of the door, along with a set of draws, and a table and chairs to the left of the door. Opposite the door there was a large window that looked out over part of an alien looking city to open ocean. Although the design of the city was very unusual, Rewa did not find it a disturbing sight. It felt more like it was somewhere she remembered from long ago. In front of the window were two white armchairs, and a coffee table. The walls were mainly grey with accents of bronze, much like the corridors she had walked through to get there. All the panelling seemed to be made from metal, but it didn't echo the way you might expect. In fact it felt warm and inviting. In the wall to the left of the entry was a second door, which lead to the bathroom with all the usual fittings you would expect. The centre of the room was empty.

Rewa was standing at the window when a chime sounded, then the door slid open revealing Teyla holding a pile of clothes.

"I was not sure of your size, so I brought two sets. I will return the items that don't fit. We will have to take your measurements and send to the mainland for the underwear," she said handing the pile to Rewa.

"I will wait outside, if you want, while you change."

"Don't worry about it, I will just pop into the bathroom. I don't feel much like being alone at the moment."

Rewa left the door open as she quickly discarded her baggy clothing and useless bra. She pulled on a pair of grey trousers which looked like the ones Teyla was wearing, but they were too big.

"Wow!" she thought to herself, "they looked so small when I picked them up." The second smaller pair fit nicely, so she pulled on the matching sized white t-shirt, which mercifully had a built in shelf bra. Again it was a good fit. Over that went a grey jacket similar to ones she had seen others in the corridors wearing . This one had a light blue stripe on the fronts and lower part of the sleeves. She had noticed other coloured stripes on other jackets, Dr Beckett had pale yellow on his. Glancing in the full length mirror, she noticed that she looked good, slim and perfectly proportioned. Even her. shoulder length straight hair looked thicker and shiner than it had that morning. It was dark auburn, and flicked up naturally at the ends when it hit the resistance of her shoulders. Number 113A, natural dark burgundy was the shade on the box. She wondered idly if her natural colour would be better now too, since so much else about her had changed. Mousey dark blonde would not be a good look, no matter how good the body below it was.

She went out and handed the second set of clothes to Teyla , along with the measurements she had taken while she was getting changed.

"These fit good, thank you"

"Are you hungry? I was going to get my evening meal, would you like to accompany me?" Teyla asked.

"Yes thank you, I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Good, we will drop these along the way." Teyla said indicating the pile of clothes.

The mess hall wasn't overly large, but spacious enough to fit a dozen or so tables, and there were more tables out on a balcony beyond large windows. They got a tray each, then chose from a selection of foods, that were displayed in cabinets and baymaries. Rewa took Teyla's lead and chose a sandwich and fresh fruit, adding a steaming cup of coffee before following her to a table at which Ronon was sitting. He looked up as they sat down, nodding to Teyla and giving Rewa a smile.

"You look good in the uniform," he remarked. "I hear you have been given some quarters in the West pier with a view of the open ocean."

"Not sure where the room is actually, I may never find it again without help," she answered. "But the view is stunning!"

"I can just see the Golden Gate Bridge from my window," he said. "I miss the wide open ocean view, the city over there is too big for my liking."

"San Francisco? I'm in San Francisco? How did I get here so fast? It is a 13 hour flight from Christchurch, and I don't remember going through customs!"

"You took a shortcut, and technically we aren't in the city, we are off the coast. Don't know much about the customs, but you're not supposed to go around shooting people who get in your way." Ronon chuckled.

"Howdy folks, how are you doing Rewa?" Sheppard asked as he sat down with his own tray of food.

"Good thanks, although not used to the face in the mirror."

"Yeah, you have changed somewhat from the housewife who thought we were looters."

"Well, when you come right down to it, you did turn up intending to remove at least one item from my property, so I wasn't too far off the mark."

Sheppard acknowledged the remark with a chuckle, then continued.

"We have an expert coming out to meet you and try to understand just what has happened. With any luck, we will have you back to normal and sent home before the weeks out."

Rewa smiled at the thought. "I would like to call my family, would that be possible? They must be worried sick, I know I am!"

"I will have to clear it with Woolsey, but I can't see a problem with that."

The rest of the meal passed with small talk, then Teyla walked Rewa back to her quarters, promising to come back first thing in the morning . As the door closed behind her, Rewa started to think of all the small items she didn't have, such as a toothbrush or nightwear.

"I need to start a list," she said to herself, and looked around the room. "Top of the list is a pad and pen," she muttered. She then removed her jacket, shoes and trousers, and climbed into bed in her knickers and t-shirt. She expected to find it hard to sleep in this strange new bed, and body, but was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next morning she was woken by the door chime. She pulled on her trousers as she hopped over to door and opened it to find Teyla standing there with a couple of shopping bags in her hands.

"Here are some items you might need. Anything that does not fit can be sent back. I will leave you to go through these, and come back in an hour." She smiled and left.

Feeling a bit like a kid on Christmas morning, Rewa crossed back to the bed and started to look through the bags. There was an assortment of underwear and nightwear. A toothbrush and paste, as well as other toiletries, a couple of printed t-shirts, and some yoga pants. She tried on all the items of clothing, placing those that didn't fit back into one of the bags. Then she gathered up all the toiletries and went to the bathroom to start the morning routine. When Teyla came back Rewa was dressed in the same outfit as yesterday except for a t-shirt that had a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge on it. She handed the bag of rejects over.

"I should be set for most things now, thank you very much for everything."

"You are most welcome. Now let us go have our morning meal, then you can meet Dr McKay."

After eating, Teyla took Rewa to a lab where she recognized Sheppard and Zelenka. They were talking to another man who she hadn't met before.

"No, no," he was saying. "It's more like a time capsule than just storage. It was, I suspect, lying dormant in the soil until the city entered the atmosphere, then it detected its proximity and set off a beacon. A distress call, if you will. Then once you dug it up it must have turned on at your touch," he pointed to Sheppard, "and this other woman, you say she has the gene?"

"It was the first thing Beckett checked for."

"Well obviously when she reached out and touched the artifact at the same time as you, the device activated dumping all the data contained in the capsule into her brain. Should be a simple matter to ascertain what it is comprised of. I will just write a program and load it into the stasis field, then we put her and one other in stasis for a short while and retrieve it."

"Well that is good news," said Teyla. "Hello Rodney, good to see you again. Rewa, I would like you to meet Dr Rodney McKay."

Rewa smiled self-consciously. McKay turned to Sheppard and said. "I thought you said she was mid-40's."

"She was,. Is, it's kind of hard to explain. Her body has undergone changes since she was zapped, most notably, getting younger."

"What has Beckett said about it?" he asked.

"Not much, he can't explain how it could happen. But to me it looks sort of similar to what a Wraith can do."

"I am here you know, I can hear you." Rewa was getting annoyed that they were talking about her as if she wasn't there at all.

"Well yes, I'm not sure what can be done about that, it may well be a temporary condition. If it is linked to the data, then it may reverse itself when the data is retrieved." Dr McKay acted like she hadn't said a word. There was silence from everyone for a moment, before he continued,

"Ok then, if there is nothing else, I've got work to do. I'll let you know when you are needed" He turned his back on everyone in the room and started to work away at one of the many computers in the lab.

"Well isn't he just a ball of fun!" Rewa said to no one in particular as they left the room.

"Wait until you get to know him," said Zelenka. "He gets worse!"

"Ooh, I can't wait," she quipped.

"The thing is," said Sheppard. "He is the best, no offence Zelenka. If you're in trouble, you want him on your side. He has saved all our butts a dozen times over."

Zelenka gave Sheppard a withering look, then turned and walked away muttering in Czech as he went.

There was nothing much for Rewa to do, and everyone else had duties to preform, so she spent the rest of the morning wandering the corridors of the city looking out at the various views of both cites as she came across them. She found it hard to believe that she was there at all, let alone how she looked. In her wanderings she came across a large room in which she found Teyla and Ronan sparring. To Rewa it looked more like a complicated dance involving sticks, which provided the rhythm as they clattered together. She stood in the door way and watched, not wanting to interrupt them.

"Amazing aren't they?" said a voice to her right, startling her. She looked to see Sheppard was leaning against the wall watching as well.

"They have both been trying to teach me that for the past 4 or 5 years, but I'm not all that good at it. Give me a P90, or a fist fight, and I'm likely to come out on top, but this? It's not where my strengths lie."

"It's beautiful," Rewa breathed. "It's like they are dancing!"

"And that would be why I can't master it," said Sheppard with a laugh. "By the way, Woolsey is going to set up a call for you this evening, should be mid-afternoon back in New Zealand at the time."

"Oh, thanks, that will be great!"

"You can't tell them where you are, what is happening, or when you are going home. As far as they know you are sick and highly contagious."

"I'll just tell them that I miss them then." They fell into silence and watched the spectacle before them.

Around 8pm, Rewa was sitting in an office with a phone in her hand. It rang a few times, then a voice she had been longing to hear said "Hello"

"Hi honey, its mummy, how are you?"

"Dad, it's Mum on the phone!" was yelled down the line as well as to the household back in New Zealand. A second line was picked up.

"Rewa, how are you, when do you think they will be letting you come home?" came the voice of her husband.

"I feel pretty good considering, but I don't know when they will let me leave."

"Where are you Mummy?" asked her young daughter.

"I'm in a big hospital, in an even bigger city."

"You're not in Christchurch? Where are you, Auckland?" her husband, Carl asked.

"Think so, I'm not sure, I was unconscious when I arrived. How is Rubin?" He was her son, the older of two at 13. Her daughter, Laura, was 10.

"He's good, well moody as usual, but doing well, he made the A-team at school." He was a good rugby league player, just like his name sake.

"I'm so pleased; I wish I was there to give him a hug."

"He wouldn't let you Mum, he says hugging is for babies."

"He's still my baby, just like you are Sweetie."

"We all miss you around here," said Carl.

"I miss you guys too. Now, tell me all about your day yesterday," she said sitting back in the chair, just happy to hear their voices.

Chapter 4

Next morning Rewa was up and dressed before the door chime went. Today it was Ronon who had come to collect her for breakfast. They joined Sheppard, Teyla and Rodney at a table on the balcony.

"How did you sleep?" asked Sheppard.

"Very well, which surprises me, I'm not good in strange beds usually."

Sheppard damn near chocked on his mouthful and Ronon chuckled.

"That came out wrong," Rewa felt herself turning red.

"You think?" asked Rodney.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," she snapped back at him. Why did he dislike her so much, she wondered.

"Don't mind him," Sheppard said. "He is missing his new wife; they are still in the honeymoon period."

"Oh!" Suddenly she could understand just how he felt. "I'm sorry you had to come out for me, I know how you feel, I miss my husband too."

"You're married? Yes, I guess I should have known that with the 'housewife' reference." He seemed to be warming to her.

"How long have you been married?" she asked.

"Two months now," he said beaming with pride. "You?"

"17 years last April," she smiled, "and I still like him!"

"Good to hear. Any children?"

"Two, one of each, 13 and 10. Guess I don't look old enough now."

"Well, we will see what we can do about that. I should be able to try the data retrieval plan in an hour or so. I just have to go over the details to make sure I haven't missed anything."

"Oh, good, it won't hurt at all will it?"

"Shouldn't think so," he said. "I will be sending John in with you, I need to stay out here to monitor things."

Rewa looked puzzled until Sheppard gave a little wave. "That's me, John Sheppard."

"Oh, I never knew you had a first name."

"That's ok, I don't know if you have a last name."

She laughed. "Adams," she supplied.

"Ok then," said Rodney. "I will call you when I'm ready, until then…have fun," he said with a shrug of the shoulders. He got up and left the table.

"Sure, no problem," said Rewa distractedly as she stared off into space.

"It will be ok you know," Sheppard said. "We will go to sleep, dream a little, then next thing you know, you will be back home cozied up by the fire with your family."

She smiled at him. "In most ways, I hope you're right, it's just this new body, I like it, it doesn't ach… anywhere. I could get used to that."

An hour later Rewa was still sitting at the same table, drinking her 3rd cup of coffee. All the others had gone to whatever duties they had to preform, when a young man in military uniform came up to the table.

"Excuse me, Rewa Adams? I have been sent to bring you to Dr McKay's lab."

"Oh. Ok." She took a deep breath, sculled the last of her coffee, and got to her feet to follow him. "Can we stop by the loo's? Three coffees in quick succession , not good for the long term."

He smiled, blushed and led the way.

"Right, all you need to do is stand in here." Rodney was saying. "You will feel a cold blast then nothing. It will be like you're dreaming, nothing can hurt you." He turned away and muttered, "I hope. John will be right there with you, and will lead you through whatever you need to do. With any luck it will be straight forward, and over before you know it."

Rewa nodded, but didn't trust herself to speak. She was scared, but didn't know what is was, she was scared of. She and Sheppard stepped into the small chambers and turned to look out at Rodney McKay. The look on his face did nothing to allay Rewa's concerns. The next moment she felt as if cold water had been poured over her, then she was standing on a balcony wearing a white and cream linen dress. The view she was seeing was not one she had seen from the city before. There was ocean, but in the far distance she could see land and mountains. The city itself looked different too, newer somehow. Maybe it was the way the sun was striking it, but it seemed to sparkle. She looked around, but was alone. Surely John Sheppard was supposed to be here with her. She took a deep breath of air which tasted sweeter than she had ever known, and went inside. She was in the main control room, she recognised the Stargate in front of her. She went to one of the control panels, pushed a couple of buttons and bought up a list of gate addresses, choose one, and dialed. As it locked she heard Sheppard's voice.

"What are you doing?"

"You need to see this," she answered, and stepped towards the gate. He followed.

"This is a bit unusual," he said. "I never knew we could travel in this state."

"There is a lot you don't know," she replied, and stepped through the event horizon.

The universe snaked out in front of them like a green tunnel, and they stepped out onto another world, yet at the same time it was one they knew – Earth, over 10,000 years ago.

Both Rewa and Sheppard stood there and watched a tubule in front of them of three people who struggled to survive in a far corner of the world. They were attacked by large animals that looked like large lizards. Then knowing they were doomed to die, they set up a device to contain the knowledge of one of the members of the group, a young woman, a scientist. All that she knew was transferred into the device, then it was set so that when it was found by another member of their race, her knowledge would live again. The device was put into a shallow hole for safe keeping, and there is sat for well over 10,000 years, slowly being covered by more and more layers of soil, until it was triggered by the arrival of the star-ship city of Atlantis entering the atmosphere. They continued to watch as it was dug up, and all that had been the young scientist , was poured into the brain and body of Rewa. Then both she and Sheppard were standing once again in the city.

"What does that all mean?" he asked.

"It means this vessel is no longer just Rewa. She has combined completely with Youland, One of whom you think of as an ancient. She contains all of her knowledge as well as the physical body, but also all of the knowledge of Rewa. To unlock the ancient knowledge you need the key."

"What is the Key?" he asked.

"The key is the city, but it is also the planet on which the city belongs."

"Earth?"

"No. Earth is not where the city belongs, it is just where it is resting. Take the city home."

With that Rewa crumpled and Sheppard caught her in his arms before she could hit the floor.

"Are you alright?" he asked her.

"I feel like I was hijacked." She got to her feet again and asked, "So what now?"

"When Rodney has retrieved all the data he will wake us. If we are still here, then there must be more to it than that."

"I have a question," Rewa said. "I'm not sure I really want to ask it."

He just looked at her and waited.

"If this is not Earth, where are we?" They both looked out at the view.

"If it was night, I might be able to narrow the field down a little by the stars."

"Maybe we can get the information from the control panels," she said heading back towards the desk-like units and started to tap controls searching for the answers. Sheppard looked down at what she was doing for a moment then asked,

"You understand what you are doing there?"

She stopped and looked down at her hands in wonder, then up at him."I can read the symbols and understand what they do, as easy as if I was using the oven or the DVD player back home." There was awe in her voice.

"Alright then," he said. "You stay there, I'll look over here." He walked to a neighbouring station. They worked quietly for a while, then he spoke up.

"It's not giving me anything useful, no name, no location, almost like it is being hidden from us."

"You don't suppose it is because this is just a simulation, and the city systems don't actually work do you?"

"That may be it, Rodney may not have had enough time to totally flesh out the simulation."

"Can we get a message out to him?"

"The simulation I was last in, I could come and go as I pleased. I'll give it a try now. If I disappear you will know I'm out."

She watched him stand there with his eyes closed for a moment, then asked "Next idea?"

He opened his eyes and said with a lop-sided smile, "It was worth a try."

"I will see if I can send him a message through the interface." He moved to another work station, and started working away, muttering as he did so. "Come on buddy, work it out." Then all of a sudden he was gone.

"Hmm, guess he worked it out then.." she said to herself. She was getting nowhere with the control panel, so she moved away and headed out to the balcony.

"Maybe it will help if I can describe the landscape." But she could see precious little of that. "I need a 360ᵒ view."

She left the control room to find other windows, but not every room had a view. _The next level down does though. _she thought. "Odd how I know my way around this place, I guess it is all part of the program."

She had just come to a room with a view in the opposite direction, and saw enough to know it was only open ocean that way, when she felt a blast of warm air and opened her eyes to see Dr McKay and Col. Sheppard standing in front of her. She was out of stasis.

"Anything?" Sheppard asked her.

"No."

"Well I was able to get quite a lot of information actually," said Rodney.

They both just stood and looked at him, waiting for him to go on.

"Yes, well, it's not all good. You seem to have a full working knowledge of the city and its systems, but I can't take them out of your head. They have gone in as memories and are as much a part of you as your own childhood was."

"Meaning?" she asked.

"The good news, or the bad news, depending on how you look at it, is that the simulation has gone some way to unlocking those memories. All you need to do is remember, and the information should be there."

"Meaning?" she said again.

"He looked up from the computer screen he had been staring at intently, looked at her, then Sheppard, and back to her.

"Meaning – if we want the information you will have to stay here in the city. I can't extract the information from you, I'm sorry."

"What? Stay here? For how long?"

"Indefinitely."

A look of horror crossed her face. "Forever?"

"There is no way to reverse what has been done to you. Apart from the fact that you have a working knowledge of a top secret Alien City, your appreance has been changed in such a way that can't be explained by illness or even plastic surgery. It's like your body has been set back to factory settings, so to speak." He trailed off a bit at the end.

"What" Sheppard asked, "does factory settings mean?"

"Beckett said she was in perfect health for a 20 year old, right?"

He nodded.

"That would be a 20 year old who had never had children, never broken a bone, or even her skin. There is not a mark or scar on, or in her – I defy you to find even a mole!" He sat back in his chair and waited for a response from either of them. Sheppard looked over at Rewa for a moment, shook his head slightly as if to clear an image, and looked back at Rodney.

Rodney sighed. "Even if you could somehow make your husband and children believe who you are, medical records would not back up your claim, even your DNA has changed.

"I need some air," she said as she turned and walked from the room. Her pace increased and soon she was running. The fact that she knew where she was going did nothing for her state of mind. At last she ran outside onto an open pier. She walked over to the edge and looked down at the water lapping the edges.

"Shit" she whispered, then shouted it to the heavens, "SHIT!" She sat down with her legs over the side, and let the tears roll down her face.

Chapter 5

The next morning no one came to her room to get her, and at first she was fine with that, but by mid-morning she was ready for some distraction. Her thoughts just kept going round on the same track. She found her way back down the practice room where she had seen Teyla and Ronon sparring. Today, Teyla was alone, going through the moves like fast Ti-chi. Teyla saw her standing in the doorway and stopped.

"That was beautiful," Rewa breathed.

"I could teach you, if you would like."

"I don't think I would be any good."

"It's a good way to keep your mind from wandering where you do not want it to go, and it also builds strength and fitness."

"Ok, I'll give it a go," she said taking off her jacket and tossing it to the side.

Teyla started by showing her some set moves which again reminded Rewa of Ti-chi, then when she could run through those without mistakes, Teyla showed her how those moves could be used to block and strike. They kept it slow and easy, but Rewa could see how she could use the moves in a real fight. They had been working for an hour, when Sheppard turned up. He watched for a while before saying,

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we need to talk to you Rewa, about what is going to happen now that we know more about your condition."

When they stopped, Rewa bowed to Teyla. "Thank you. You have focused my mind, I hope we can do this again soon."

"You are most welcome. I look forward to our next lesson."

Rewa grabbed her jacket and followed Sheppard from the room.

10 minutes later they were standing in Woolsey's office with a high ranking military man she hadn't met before.

"Rewa, this is General O'Neill" said Woolsey.

"Hello Rewa, it is a pleasure." He said stepping forward with his hand out to shake, which she accepted.

"I have been fully briefed about your condition. As it stands, we have two major problems that I can see. First are your physical changes which make it problematic for you to return to your home and family. Second is your possession of top secret information that requires some of the highest levels of clearance to access. We can't let this become public knowledge. We can't just let you leave. So I am offering you a position as a civilian consultant to the expedition . As such, you will have a permanent home in the city, and will be paid for your services. Any and all training you may need will be provided." He paused, but got no reaction. "So, what do you say to that?"

"What will I,…You tell my husband and kids?"

"After a long discussion we feel it will be easier on them as well as yourself, if they were to believe you had succumbed to the illness, they already believe you have."

"Easier? Telling my children that their mother is dead is easier?"

"It is easier than having to constantly come up with new reasons why you can't go home, and why they can't come to see you. Why you can't even video chat with them."

She was silent as his words sunk home. _Oh my God, I'm never going home_! she thought.

"We can give you some time. Prepare them a bit for the end. That will give you a chance to say goodbye, and to ask for some photos, or keeps sakes to be sent. To have something to remember them by. I can have them picked up and bought here for you."

She was silent.

"The US Government will pay for a service for your family, we will not leave them out of pocket."

"Just without a wife and mother," she said quietly. No one in the room spoke.

"If I do this, and I'm not all that sure if I even have a choice, I would like to see them. I want to go to the service, so I will be able to say goodbye to my life too."

"That can be arranged."

"How long?"

"2 weeks, any longer would be too painful for everyone involved."

She nodded, but kept her eyes down cast. "Can I go now?" she asked.

"Give some thought to what you want from home and let Mr. Woolsey know ASAP. I will be putting a call through to your husband tonight at 20 hundred hours. Your contract will be drawn up and ready for you to sign in the morning."

No one spoke as she turned and left.

Later that evening she asked them to get some family photos, her i-pod, and a teddy bear both children had loved as babies.

The next two weeks were very hard on Rewa. She hated putting her family through so much pain, but even she had to admit in the end, that to do anything else would be even more painful.

When she got the items from home, she found a few extra bits and pieces had been put in by each member of her family. Things they wanted her to have with her in her last days. She treasured them all deeply.

After her supposed death, a box of ashes were sent back to her family, -contamination meant the body had to be cremated they were told.

Rewa, wearing a wig and accompanied by Sheppard and Teyla attended a very tasteful service, but did not stay to meet the family.

Back in Atlantis Rewa went straight to her quarters and stayed there for the next two days, not bothering to get dressed or eat. On the morning of the third day Teyla turned up at her door and told her to get dressed.

"You cannot stay in here and starve yourself. You have to make this life count for something, or what was the point?"

"I don't know, what was the point? It's not like I can offer anything to the program. I didn't even finish school!"

"I did not go to school at all," Teyla said "I was taught my letters by my mother, yet I contribute much to the team."

Rewa had no fight left in her, so she gave up. Showered and dressed she joined Teyla for breakfast. Within minutes Ronon, Sheppard, Zelenka and Beckett had all joined them, offering words of encouragement and sorrow, she had after all lost her family three days ago. Teyla had a plan though. She started to really train Rewa in the art of unarmed combat. Rewa threw herself into the workouts, heart and soul. It gave her a way to hit back at the world, at what had happened to her. Besides, there really was no danger she could hurt Teyla, she was far too good!

Gradually Rewa stared to take an interest in the daily life on the base. McKay had gone back to Area 51, and his new wife, so she spent quite a bit of time with Zelenka in his lab. He did some testing and found that she was proficient in reading and translating ancient text, which also meant she was able to pick up how to operate Atlantian technology easily and quickly. It was like the information was already there, but had been forgotten.

Chapter 6

Three weeks later, Rewa noticed there was a buzz of excitement around the city.

"What's going on?" she asked as she sat down to lunch with Ronon and Teyla.

"We are going home!" said Ronon with a huge smile.

"I'm not sure I understand."

"The city's star drive has been fixed and since we are sitting around doing nothing here, the powers that be are sending us back to the Pegasus Galaxy."

"There is more to it than that," said Sheppard pulling up a chair and sitting down as well. "You see, with two Stargate so close together, it means neither of them can work properly, they sort of cancel each other out. And when someone dials Earth, they never know which gate they will come through."

"And then there's Todd," said Ronon

"Who's Todd?"

"He's a hitch hiker, and although he was put in stasis as soon as we got here, his very presence on Earth is a concern," said Sheppard. "He makes people nervous."

"He is a Wraith," added Teyla.

"Ohh." Rewa had heard the term, but didn't really know anything about them.

"Rodney has got the Earth chair working again as well, so we are not needed anymore. Not to mention the fact that you, yourself told me we had to take the city 'Home'."

Rewa looked at Sheppard. "Have you worked out where 'Home' is?"

"We are going back to the planet it was on when we found it. If it's not 'Home', it's a good place to start looking from."

"When is this happening then?" she asked

"We have a few loose ends to tie up, and then I expect we will be powering up the drive in the morning."

"That soon?"

"Actually, it has been a long time coming. It is what we have been working towards for the past 6 and a half months."

"Will I get a job? Or will I always be just a Hanger-on-er?"

"At this stage you seem to be a lab assistant to Zelenka, and Teyla's pupil, that's enough for now," he said.

Next morning just as Rewa was walking to the mess hall, a voice came over the city's intercom. She stopped to listen, as did most other people in the city.

"Good morning everyone, this is Mr Woolsey. I'm just letting you know that in half an hour we are going to be leaving Earth to return to the Pegasus Galaxy. The first part of the trip will be done using the Wormhole drive. It will dramatically reduce the disturbance to the surrounding area as we leave. Then once we reach the edge of the Milky Way system we will be using the hyper drive. The entire trip should take a little under 3 weeks. So please, sit back and enjoy the ride. Woolsey out."

With her tray, Rewa sat down at the table with Teyla and Ronon, who were both smiling broadly.

"I'm not saying I don't like it." Ronan was saying, "It's just that I don't fit in on this planet."

"But it has been so nice to see where all of our friends come from. I still find it hard to believe none of the population know the first thing about the Wraith."

"Who are these Wraith?" Rewa asked. Both Teyla and Ronon turned to look at her, then laughed.

"See, that is just what we were saying," Ronon said still laughing.

Teyla smiled at Rewa "They are a race of people who have terrorised our Galaxy for over 10,000 years. They round up the inhabitancies of any planet they choose, and feed off their life forces."

"And we are going 'Home' to that?" Rewa asked with horror in her voice.

"Yes, I can't wait to get back, I feel like I have gone numb with inactivity."

"I'm looking forward to seeing my people again, and holding both Kanaan and Torren, my partner and son." Teyla said to Rewa.

"I'm happy for both of you," Rewa said in a strained voice, then got up putting her tray of untouched food in the returns area.

A few minutes later she walked into the lab where Zelenka seemed to be running around in a flap.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"So many things I must do, but I can't take the time to show you now, excuse me," he said as he rushed past her to yet another bank of controls and busied himself with them before rushing to the next lot.

"Sorry." She said stepping backwards towards the door she had just come through. "I just wanted to try and help."

"Maybe later." He said waving her away in a distracted fashion, then started chatting away to himself in his native tongue. Rewa turned and left.

She had nowhere that she had to be, so she wandered until she found herself on the upper level in the gate room. Here was another hive of activity, but at least she was in no one's way. She could see Mr Woolsey talking into his ear piece, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Then he turned and walked from the far side of the control room to almost directly below her. She could only see the top of his balding head now, but could hear him quite clearly.

"Zelenka, are you set?...Ahh, good. Sheppard are you ready?...Ok, then it would seem is it time….. Woolsey to General O'Neill, we are ready to leave….Yes, thank you, we will contact you again before we leave the Milky Way. …Zelenka? Go ahead, Sheppard take us out."

A moment later the control room was bathed in a green light coming from the snaking green tunnel outside the city shields. She felt a little dizzy for a second, then the green was over and all she could see outside the large windows was the blackness of space. Her mouth fell open. She had heard her new friends talk about it, even had some new 'old' memories about it, but she never really expected to find herself in deep space.

She heard the gate dialing, looked down and saw that Woolsey had moved away again. A worm hole was established and she could see him talking again, to General O'Neill she suspected. The worm hole closed again and she faintly heard Woolsey say,

"Sheppard, engage hyper drive, take us home!"

Then the room was bathed in a soft blue light. The vision outside was beautiful. She had no idea how long she had been standing there watching, but it must have been some time.

"It's something to see isn't it?" said a voice beside her. She turned to see Sheppard standing there.

"I thought you were strapped into a chair driving," she accused.

"No straps and once hyper drive is engaged it runs itself. I shouldn't be needed again until we have to land."

"How come we didn't just go the whole way in a wormhole?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing we could only get to wormhole to go to the edge of that galaxy, and for another, this way we can scan, so we will know what is waiting for us went we get there. We are also scanning for any world which could match what we know of the city's home world. McKay and Zelenka wrote a program that will somehow see if the city recognizes any planet as we go past. It's a long shot, but worth a try since we're here."

"I feel a bit useless – I've got nothing to do, and just seem to get in everyone's way. I'm not sure why I'm here."

"You're not useless; we just haven't found your place in the system yet. I believe that it is when we land that you will come into your own."

"Until then?"

"Until then enjoy the view," he said patting her on the shoulder.

"Ta," she said as he walked away.

The Days and nights passed in a blur of blue. Rewa went back to her fight training and was also taught how to handle various guns. She was told that everyone on the expedition needed to know how to shoot, to defend themselves or the city. As it turned out she was a pretty good shot. Zelenka showed her how the scanners worked so she could monitor them alone, and recognize anything of interest. He also showed her what she need to know to lend a hand when it came time to land the city. Everyone seemed to be going out of their way to make her feel useful. While she was grateful, she still felt like a fraud, an outsider. Nothing of interest ever came up from the scans, and the trip was uneventful.

Sheppard landed the city nice and close to the underwater drilling platform, while she helped behind the scenes with Zelenka, in the lab.

The first job up was sending a team down to the drilling platform to repair the damage that had been done to it when they had left during the attack from the replicators. The next thing was to send out teams to various planets to check how things had gone while they had been, well, gone.

Teyla went to visit her people who were all well. Her son was standing on his own now, but saved his first steps for his mother.

Ronon and Sheppard were off world a lot in the first two weeks, and Rewa seemed to bounce around like a lost ping pong ball, all over the place, and not needed anywhere. After extensive scans of the world they were on, it was determined that it was not the world the city originated from. Since she had nothing much to do, Rewa took to exploring parts of the city that were not as of yet occupied. When Zelenka asked her why, she told him she was scanning to see if there was anything she recognised. It became their 'inside' joke. He gave her a hand held radio so they could contact her, and left her to it. Sheppard told her not to touch anything until she was sure of what its function was. There had been a couple of accidents in the past that they most certainly did not want to repeat! On one of those 'scans' Rewa came across Todd in a stasis chamber and wondered when they would let him out. Sheppard told her he was much easier to keep an eye on where he was.

One day, about 11am, 3 weeks after landing on the planet, Rewa walked into a dark room, which at first glance of a torch beam seemed just like many others she had seen. As she went into it, all the lights came on overhead, as well as on the control panels around the room. That in itself was not unusual; it was the automated voice that said "Welcome" that knocked her for 6! She stopped dead in her tracks hardly daring to breath. There was no one else in the room with her that she could see, and when nothing else happened she resumed breathing and walked up to the first console to look it over. Nothing jumped out at her, so she move on to the next, and on around the room. On the far side of the room was what looked like a desk. On a shelf below the top she found a small folder. She opened it to find it as actually an electronic book of ancient design. It came alive at her touch. It was a journal. She sat down on the chair at the desk and stared reading. By the end of the first page she knew it had been the journal of Youland, the scientist whose memories had been fused into her brain. As she continued to read, she could see images in her mind, the words were triggering memories. She was deeply engrossed in the words and images when the cracking of the radio made her jump.

"Sheppard to Rewa, come in please."

She took the radio out of her pocket "Rewa here."

"Can you come to the gun range please?"

"Yes, on my way." She closed the journal and slipped it into an inside pocket of her jacket as she stood. As she left the lab – her lab, the light turned off, and an automated voice said

"Farewell."

"Thanks." She muttered and left feeling foolish.

At the gun range, Sheppard put her through her paces, and determined she was quite skilled in hitting targets, and basic gun maintenance.

"Good." He said as she hit near the centre of yet another target. "I think you are ready."

"For what?"

"You will join my team for an off world mission."

"Wow! What? Where?"

"Ahh, the three w's ! Don't worry I'm not expecting any trouble, just routine." He looked at his watch "We leave in just over 20 minutes, just enough time to get you suited up."

They went to the armoury, where he handed her a pile of black clothing including a leather jacket, flak jacket, and boots, then pointed her to an area to get changed. The combat boots felt odd after gym shoes. She came back out wondering how she looked; it seemed that soldiers didn't go in for mirrors. She looked up when she heard a wolf whistle.

"Wow," said Sheppard. "That's a good look on you!"

She looked over at his matching outfit and said, "I think you are a little biased towards black."

"Basic black, all the fashion magazines will agree with me, is the best!"

"I think they are talking about little black dresses."

"Not too practical in my game, but if you want one, I'm sure it would look good on you."

"Thanks, I'll pop down to the mall later shall I?"

"Here is your matching handbag." He said handing her a P 90 short stock automatic assault rifle. She took it and wondered how to carry it, without it being a threat to those around her.

Sheppard stepped forward. "Here", he said as he unzipped the flak jacket a bit. "It clips in here like so, keep one hand here." He said placing her hand on the side of it, "to stop is swinging about. You can't drop it, and you're ready for action at a moment's notice. See?"

"Ok" she said thinking to herself, _Darn, should have been watching what he was doing_.

"Right, good," he said stepping back. "Let's go join the others in the gate room."

The address was dialed and the worm hole locked, then four of them stepped through –Col. John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan and Rewa Adams.

This was the first time she had actually stepped through a Stargate, the first time was only a projection, and the second was the whole city. Stepping out the other side she felt disoriented, but not dizzy as she had when the city had gone through. They were standing in a clearing of a wood, with a dirt path leading away from the gate through the trees. The air was cool and had the taste and smell of leaf mould to it.

"You alright there Rewa?" Sheppard inquired.

"Tip Top, A ok, wow that was a buzz!" She said grinning back at them all, they all laughed at her response.

"It never gets old," replied Ronon.

"The village is this way," said Sheppard as he started walking.

It was a 20 minute walk over easy terrain and Rewa enjoyed every minute of it. The village, when it came into sight, looked like something out of a fairy story – all mud brick and thatched roofs. The people were dressed in a mix of home-spun fabrics and animal skins, and seemed very friendly. This was obviously not the first visit the team had made. Teyla took Rewa to a small market area that sold mainly fruit and vegetables, but there were also a couple of stalls that sold trinkets and cloth. One necklace caught Rewa's eye. It was a carved pendant that reminded her of the Ying and Yang symbol, while also looking somewhat like a Celtic knot. The stone it was carved into was round and coloured grey, and red. The merchant told her that the stone itself was 2 toned, grey on the outside and red inside. He asked if she would like to buy it, but she had no money, and nothing to trade either. With reluctance she left the stall. Sheppard and Ronan were talking with some elders of the village, and Teyla was trying to listen to them, while keeping an eye on her.

Rewa walked down the street and found a grassy area leading down to a stream. There were a group of 6 children ranging in age from around 5 up to about 12. They were playing a ball game that looked a bit like a cross between tag and netball. It involved a lot of laughter and calling to one another. Rewa leaned against the side of a house and watched. When Teyla came to get her 20 minutes later, there were tears in her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Teyla asked concerned.

"I'm just missing my kids."

"I miss my son also. He and his father are coming to visit Atlantis soon. I would like you to meet them."

"That would be lovely, thank you."

"It is time to go. John and Ronon have finished and are waiting for us."

"Ok." She had one last look at the laughing children and turned to walk back up the street with Teyla, brushing tears from her eyes as she went.

When they reached the others, Sheppard shot Teyla a look as if to say 'what happened' Teyla gave a quick shake of her head to indicate nothing was wrong.

That evening Rewa was in her quarters reading the journal she had found, when the door chime sounded. When she opened the door she was surprised to see John Sheppard standing there.

"I didn't see you at dinner," he said.

"I ate early."

"Oh….Um, I got you something, just to, well…. welcome you to the Pegasus Galaxy. Also to commemorate your first off world mission," he said holding out a small leather pouch.

She accepted it and turned towards the armchairs. "Come in, have a seat. I'm sorry I can only offer you water," she said as the door closed behind him.

"I'm fine." He said walking across the room and sitting down.

She sat in the opposite chair and undid the cord at the top of the pouch, then turned it up to empty it into her hand. Out fell the pendant she had so admired.

"I saw you looking at it," he said with a self-conscious smile.

"Thank you, I love it," she said fingering the design.

"Here, let me put it on," he said getting up and reaching to take it from her. He slipped it over her head making sure it was secured at the back, then lifted her hair so it would sit against the skin of her neck. Then he sat back down. There was silence for a moment. He glanced around the room. It was still the same bare room she moved into. The only extra things to be seen, was a photo album on the draws by the bed, a small teddy propped on her pillow, and the journal on the coffee table.

"I like what you haven't done with the place," He said with a grin.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not much else I can do without money or shops."

"What's this?" he asked picking up the book.

"It is the journal of Youland. I found it in what must have been her lab."

"Personal or work?"

"Mostly personal. I don't know why she left it behind when she went to earth."

"I suppose she thought she was coming back."

"Yeah, but I wouldn't leave mine…Um, scratch that, I did leave one behind, mind you, I have started a new one."

He raised his eyebrows, then a moment later he changed the subject. "You'll be getting your first pay soon. You can order stuff from Earth. It takes a bit of time to get here, and sometimes it's bumped off the ship to make room for required supplies, but it can be done."

"I'll think about that thank you, I don't suppose the local market places take earth money do they?"

Not usually no, but most will trade."

I have to have something to trade with first."

"Candy is a good one, chocolate especially, and it's pretty easy to get here too."

"Thanks, I will keep that in mind."

They sat in silence for a while, then Sheppard stood up.

"Well, I better be going."

"You do, oh, ok, thanks again for the pendant."

"No problem, glad you like it," He walked over to the door and opened it. "Well good night."

"Thanks, and good night to you too."

He stood there in the doorway for a moment or two, then gave a little cough, and said

"Right." Then turned and walked away. Rewa stepped into the doorway and watched his retreating back for a moment, but stepped back inside before he reached the corner and could catch her watching.

She closed the door and leaned against it fingering the pendant.

"Hmm," she said to herself. "What do you make of that?"

The next day Rewa spent in Youland's lab, looking at logs to try to work out what she had been working on. She came across an entry that talked about the planet. She read it through twice, but it didn't seem to telly with what she knew about the planet the city was on. Using that entry as a starting point she searched for others like it, and came up with an address for a planet that could very well be the planet of origin. She wrote the address down, and went in search of Sheppard, only to find he was off world at the time. So she took her find to Zelenka. He looked the address up on the data base and found it easy enough, but there was no information about the planet itself.

It was around mid-morning the next day before Sheppard and his team returned, it felt like weeks to Rewa. He had barely reached the armoury to drop off his gun and flak jacket when Rewa came in breathless with excitement.

"I think I've found it!" she said excitedly.

"Found what?"

"Youland's planet, or rather the planet Youland told us to go to!"

"Have you checked it out in the data base?"

"Yes, there is no information on it, but it does confirm the gate address."

"Ok, first we have to talk to Woolsey, then, if he gives us the go ahead, we send a M.A.L.P. through. If that looks good, we can go and check it out."

"I can go too, right?"

"As long as it looks safe, I guess you can."

"Goody," she said bouncing up and down clapping her hands.

He grinned with her but said, "Hey settle down, someone might get the wrong idea."

"Sorry, excited, it's the first thing I've done all by myself."

"Well, we better go see Woolsey then," he said getting up from the bench he had been sitting on, and walked out the door. Rewa skipped along beside him. He chuckled, he was so used to seeing sadness in her eyes. He couldn't get over how different she looked now, like two different women.

Woolsey was fine with the idea, but wanted an extra unit of marines to go with them. Sheppard got on the radio, and told everyone the plan , then took Rewa back down the armoury to suit up. When it came time for Rewa to clip in the P 90, she couldn't locate the clip, then Sheppard was there in front of her again, unzipping the jacket, clipped it on, then he unclipped it again, and zipped the jacket again. He then handed the gun back, and said,

"Now show me."

She unzipped, managed to clip the secure line in place, and zipped back up again.

"Good," he said. "I don't expect to have to show you again." He smiled and patted her on the arm. She felt like a silly little child, but soon the excitement was back.

A little later they were all in the gate room watching as the M.A.L.P. was sent through. It sent back pictures of a dry looking country side with scrubby vegetation. Not a drop of water in sight. Scans quickly confirmed that there was no water for miles around. It also showed that the air temputure was high, 105ᵒ Fahrenheit.

"Radiation levels are quite high as well. You should be ok as long as you are on the surface no longer than an hour." Beckett told them.

"Ok, change of plans gang, we're taking a jumper." A few minutes later they were going through the gate in the jumper. Further scans showed there was no human life, only insects and lizards.

"I'd say all the signs show us that the sun is dying. You can see there used to be lots of water down there at one time," said Sheppard.

"I don't think bringing the city here is such a good idea." Rewa added. Sheppard nodded his assent to the statement.

"That looks like ruins down there," said Ronon

"Ok, we will take a look, but we aren't staying long kiddies," said Sheppard.

They landed just to the left of the piles of tumbled rocks, and prepared to disembark. The Marines took up positions around the area, while Teyla, Ronon, Sheppard, and Rewa walked among them scanning the area with hand-helds, and eyes.

"There's nothing here," said Ronon.

"It doesn't look like it was built by ancients," agreed Teyla.

"I don't understand, all the information pointed to this planet," said Rewa.

"Maybe when they left they took everything with them, this could the ruins of a totally different race," said Ronon

"Possible," said Sheppard, "after all it was well over 10 000 years ago that the city must have left."

"So, right planet, wrong time. How do we find that key we were told about?"

"You are doing just fine without it. Maybe just being in the city, in this galaxy is enough," Sheppard suggested.

"Yeah, right, there is a Tui add if ever I heard one!" She noticed the blank looks on their faces "Ad campaign for beer in New Zealand, look it up when you get back."

They all continued to look around spreading out from each other to cover more ground. Rewa turned around a full 360ᵒ looking, then looked down at the ground at her feet.

"What do I need to know?" she muttered to the ground below. She squatted down and placed her hands palms down on the hard baked sandy rock and closed her eyes, trying to feel something, anything, but nothing came . Feeling foolish, she stood up and glanced around to see if anyone had seen her. Her vision swum a little, then changed. She was standing on the end of one of the piers of the city, and all around her was ocean. She could smell the salty air, hear the lap of the water.

"What is it?" she heard a voice and turned to look. She saw Sheppard - he was standing on the pier too.

"I can see it, the city, I can see the ocean, it was right here."

"All I see is sand and rock." he said.

"I'm going to see if I can go inside." She walked along the pier towards the door, and through it. When she looked back she could see walls. "Can you still see me?" she asked.

"Yes," came the answer.

"I can't see you, I only see the walls of the city." A moment later Sheppard stepped through a solid looking wall.

"You just walked right through the wall." She told him with smile.

"I didn't feel a thing," he said, "didn't see a thing for that matter."

"I see a transport, I'm going to see if I can go to the gate room."

"I hope you can't, it would be well above ground level."

"I think I will be ok." She walked into the transport and activated the controls. All Sheppard and the others saw, who were now all watching, was her standing in one spot for a moment before taking a couple of steps forward.

"I'm there." She said looking around. "I'm alone, the city seems to be empty."

Sheppard walked towards her.

"Oh, there you are walking through walls again." She said with a laugh.

"We see nothing, apart from you walking around an open area."

"Guess I must be the key then." Rewa went over to the controls that only she could see and went to work on them, looking for the information to tell her why she was told to come to this planet, hell this galaxy for that matter!

"There is nothing here." She looked up at Sheppard, who now had Ronon and Teyla standing with him.

"What should I be looking for?" she asked them.

He shook his head. "I have no idea, I wish I could help."

"Is there anything that seems to jump out at you?" asked Teyla.

"No, nothing."

"Go to your lab," suggested Ronon.

She looked at him. "Good idea, wish I'd thought of it."

She walked back to the transporter only she could see and touched the panel. A moment later she was standing just down the corridor from her lab. As she got to the door, she saw that she was not alone after all. There was a young woman in the lab, who turned to look at her as she entered.

"You came," the woman said.

Rewa called out to the others, "You don't see her do you?"

"See who?" came the reply.

"That's what I thought. Who are you?" she asked her.

"I am Youland, I am locked in your body, but locked out of your mind."

"No, I remember things with your eyes when I read your journal, you are most certainly in my head!"

"As old memories only, it can be so much more."

"You want to take me over completely?"

"I will be a part of you, but you will still be you. I can't live again, I can only pass on what I know."

"You took my whole life from me with your time capsule, did you understand what you were doing at the time?"

"I lost my life when I choose to save my knowledge and memories, I think I understood."

"Will the end result be worth two lives being lost?"

"I believe it will be worth it, or I would never have put the plan in motion. You are alive, you have a new life now, would you give it up?"

"I… No, but I didn't want to give up my old life either, but no, I wouldn't give this one up by choice."

"Please, place your hand on here." She indicated a panel on the console.

Rewa moved over to it, and placed her hand where she was asked. Then Youland placed her hand on a similar panel. A soft buzzing sound stared at her touch, and grew into a deafening roar. At the same time the light around Rewa got brighter until it blinded her. Then everything seemed to explode around her.

Sheppard, Teyla, and Ronon saw the light envelope Rewa, getting brighter as each second passed.

"Rewa!" shouted Sheppard, as he started forward. Before he could go more than a few steps, there was a blinding flash which left them all seeing spots before their eyes. When their vision cleared enough they saw Rewa lying unconscious. Sheppard was the first to reach her, and felt for a pulse in her neck.

"She's alive." He said to the others. "Right, we're leaving." As he said it he picked her up in his arms, and started towards the jumper. He laid her on the bench seat in the back, and headed to the flight deck.

"Are we all in?" he called back.

"Yes, just closing the hatch," a marine called back.

"Hang on!" He headed the jumper back toward the Stargate as fast as possible. When he dialed the gate he asked for a medical team to be standing by in the jumper bay.

As soon as they landed back at Atlantis, Rewa was whisked away by Carson Beckett, who called over his shoulder that he wanted all of them to get checked out for radiation levels.

Half an hour later when the whole team had been given the all clear, Sheppard went to check on Rewa. He found her awake, much to his relief.

"You gave us a bit of a scare back there," he said.

"Sorry about that. Tell me, what did you see?"

"You were surrounded by a bright light that flashed out, leaving you on the ground."

"Oh, ok. It was very loud in the light, did you hear it?"

"There was no sound."

"Dr Beckett has given me the all clear. He says nothing has changed according to his scans. So I guess all that I saw must have been some kind of dream."

"Dreams don't usually explode. You take it easy for the rest of the day. I want you back on deck tomorrow, Ok?"

"Take it easy, back on deck, yes sir!" she tried to give him a salute.

He smiled at her effort, and saluted back, before left.

Rewa was release form the infirmary half an hour later, and feeling at a loose end, she went to see Zelenka, to see if he had anything for her to do.

He was working on breaking an encryption code that was keeping him out of some notes left by one of the Ancients.

"You can take a look at it if you want," he told her "I've been looking at it so long I'm going cross eyed," he went on in Czech for a bit.

She glanced over at the monitor. "Here's your problem," she said. "It's backwards." She taped a couple of keys and the symbols rearranged themselves on the screen.

"Hmm, thank you." He looked at her for a moment and asked, "How did you know that?"

"That was some of Domanees work; he thought it was so clever to write the codes backwards, he did it on pretty much everything." She stopped, looked at Zelenka and said,

"Wow that was interesting."

"Yes," he said slowly. "Very interesting. Do you mind if I run a couple of tests?" he asked picking up a scanner.

"Go ahead, Carson just scanned me and said everything was normal, well normal for me anyway."

Chapter 7

An hour later Zelenka said, "We better share these findings with Mr Woolsey and Col. Sheppard, don't you think?"

"Guess so." Rewa said with a smile.

15 minutes later they were standing in Woolsey's office, and Sheppard walked in. He gave Rewa a look that accused her of not taking it easy, then turned his attention to Woolsey.

"Ok, Dr, don't keep us waiting, what is it you have to tell us?" Mr Woolsey asked.

"You know of-course that Rewa here received a… let's call it a download of information from an ancient device found in her backyard."

"Yes, yes, we remember," said Woolsey

"Well it seems that most of the information remained locked away, encrypted somehow." He paused for effect.

"And you know Col. Sheppard took her off world to the planet on which the city would appear to have been built on."

"Yes, it was only a couple of hours ago, get on with it man!"

"Well, it would seem that her system was 'rebooted' during that mission, and now she has full access to all the information."

"Meaning what exactly?" Woolsey asked sounding irritated.

"Well basically, it is as if she was educated as a scientist, every bit as much a scientist as me, as smart as Rodney McKay in fact."

"I don't understand," he said.

"We always knew that this 'Youland', who's memories Rewa got, was a scientist, so now that Rewa has full access to all that information, she knows everything that Youland knew. Instead of being my lab assistant, she could work along-side of me as an equal. Even teach me a thing or two. It could be like having Rodney back, only prettier, and with a nicer personality."

Rewa looked from Woolsey who looked skeptical, to Sheppard, to see a surprised look on his face, a pleased surprised look.

"I think you might be due a pay rise then," Sheppard said.

"Oh, goody, more money I have nowhere to spend!"

"This is good news, McKay's abilities have been sorely missed around here. But you realize that you will be carefully watched in your work, and just to be sure everything is as I have been told, you will be working under Zelenka."

Zelenka blushed from the tips of his ears right down his neck. "For me, he means for me!" before going off on a tangent in Czech.

"Well, McKay spent a lot of time in the field, so I guess we better get you fully trained up so you can take his place on the team."

"You said you wanted to be of use to the expedition, I think you may just have got more than you wished for," Woolsey said with a smile.

"Thank you, I hope I can live up to your expectations," she said.

"I'm sure you will have plenty of chances to try." Sheppard said, then he stepped forward with his hand out to shake.

"Welcome to the team!"

The End

**2012**

Going Home

By Dellruby

31/7/2012

**A Stargate Atlantis Episode**


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